“Gia Finds a Love” is a fourth story in the book, ‘The Adventures of Ruby Pi and the Aviation Girls’ written by Tom Durwood. The book boasts of nine amazing long stories that look beyond the history, but sheds light on the working mechanism of jet fighters, and evolution of aviation and manned flights along with personal struggles of the heroines of the book.

Gia Tomasso is an Italian girl living in Lower Manhattan on a rented property. Her father, once a veteran of Battle of Cambrai, died leaving her family in heavy debt. Gia is a mathematics prodigy. Her brilliance in the subject takes her to the air force camps in Alaska, where the US and Japs are in war over the Pacific sea’s skies. The story is more of war fiction than any other genre. However, it also shares margins with being a historical and cross cultural story.

The time is of around 1942–1944. The US boasts of its air force that has Curtiss and Warhawks. But Japs were better off with A6M Zero. Its maneuverability and performance was better than the US planes. In that plane hidden were many secrets of the war aviation field. US Royal Force’s biggest misery was unable to capture any Zero.

Gia is introduced to SRG…sort of mathematics and statistics field. She was promised for a hefty pay but her work was filled with risk. While flying to Alaska, their plane was attacked, leaving her commander Sheila dead. As Gia begins living amidst military camps and Aleutians, Tom’s narrative lends an impressive tone to its overall plot structure. The way he painted chores and cultures of Aleuts is enthralling. Tom’s ability to cast local jargons of the place, language, and people is superb… and that is something that keeps the narrative totally fictional and engrossing. Fishing culture in Alaska Islands, singing songs to Silla, the sky god! As epic as any Indian setting interspersed with intervention of demigods and deities. Fascinating description of Aleutian kayak…baidarkas…umiaq…what a beauty was that.

The other side of the story is marginally short i.e. Japs. The talented 22-year-old pilot Daichi Yamada is in love with a girl from a village, who hates the Empire of Japan. Here in Alaska….Tay…a young tribal guy with his name derived from wolves makes a dashing impression on Gia. Their rendezvous rose to a few occasions…however they developed bonding when the Jap planes attacked their area of living and playground.

Anyway the love story moves…as someone watching an old Hollywood movie based on Indian Tribals. As it goes, hardly any love story gets a happy ending in war fiction. What will be the fate of lovers in the Pacific War zone?

The important aspect of the story is that Gia uses her mathematical skills to design a plan to capture Zero. It implements as laid out but at the cost of many lives from the islands of Alaska. Will Gia see glorious days…unlike Daichi.

Terrific story of love and loss, as long as any novella! Nevertheless, a truly terrific placement of characters in the chilling backdrop of Alaska amidst the destinies of lesser-cared people!